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Today I’m going to feature some figures on the top layer of my Detolf shelf. I have assembled a collection of some of my favorite Season 1 Autobots from CHUG. For those of you that don’t know, CHUG is an acronym for Classics Henkei Universe Generations. These are all terms that Hasbro or Takara has used to label various Transformers lines that represent a modern update of classic G1 characters. I have also seen some fans refer to them collectively as G3, since it follows G1 and G2. Whatever you call it, they are all modern toy interpretation of Generation 1, though not necessarily in their exact G1 forms.

All these characters appeared starting in Season 1 of Transformers Generation 1.

There are a total of 6 figures here. I will describe each of them in depth, in the order of their release.

Optimus Prime, Classics, 2006
This Optimus Prime figure is part of the 6 initial figures that kicked off the Classics line back in 2006. It’s hard to imagine if Hasbro knew what kind of trend they were about to set in motion when these 6 figures took physical form. Hasbro tapped into something that was part of every action figure collector that grew up in the 80s with the launching of this Classics line. Anyway, this Optimus figure was one of only 2 Voyager size figures in the initial 6 (the other was Megatron, duh). To this day, this figure remains one of my favorite Optimus figures of all time. He looks good in both modes, the transformation was clever yet familiar for its time, and his overall appearance evokes instant G1 nostalgia while giving the character some mid-2000s updates. 9 years later as I write this, I still play with this figure from time to time. In the pics above he is holding his iconic G1 rifle that came as part of the BTS-03 G1 Prime Matrix of Leadership Upgrade Set by BTS Toys. I also have the FansProject G3 Trailer that can be added to this figure, but that was not featured anywhere on this blog. Maybe I should.

Sideswipe, Universe, 2008
For whatever reason, people love Sideswipe. I read a caption somewhere that stated he’s never done anything important, but he’s such a fan favorite. Maybe it’s because the G1 toy was such a good piece for its time. Or maybe it’s because he’s a fun loving character who does his job well without taking himself too seriously. Or maybe people just love his sexy Lamborghini alt mode. Whatever the reason, I gotta admit he’s also one of my all-time favorites. When the Universe toy came out back in 2008, I was beyond thrilled. And the toy did not disappoint. I knew Hasbro had no official licensing for Lamborghini, but I was pleased with the fictional alt mode they came up with to represent what would be a Lambo. The transformation of the figure is fun and satisfying. In the pics above, Sideswipe is using is G1 rifle and shoulder mounted missile launcher from the Heroic Duo Custom Kit Version 2.0 by Beelzeboss. I highly recommend this upgrade kit.

Jazz, Reveal the Shield, 2010
Jazz is another one of my all time favorites. Do a quick search for Jazz on this blog, and you will see there are many, many entries. Jazz is a character that has appeared in almost every TF continuity. In G1, Jazz completes missions with so much style and pizzazz, it’d be criminal if he was any cooler. This Jazz figure more than does justice to the Special Operations agent and Optimus Prime’s right hand man. I did a in depth review of the figure in this post, so I won’t do it again here.

Bumblebee, Age of Extinction, 2014
Bumblebee is a character that needs no introduction. He may be the most famous TF of all time, even surpassing Optimus Prime. Hasbro released so many CHUG Bumblebees over the years that I could have used many others for this lineup, but I used this one because I think he scales the best. And no, this is not the Generations Thrilling 30 Bumblebee. Though this is a exact repaint of the same mold, released as a Toys R Us exclusive 2-pack along with deluxe Age of Extinction Bumblebee (the modern Camero). That’s why I labeled it Age of Extinction above. This Bumblebee is a fun little figure. And I think that captures the spirit of Bumblebee. In the movie lines, Hasbro released way too many Bumblebees that are way too large and way too complicated. To me that is never Bumblebee.

Roar (aka Snarl), ToyWorld, 2014
Not counting the upgrade kits, Snarl is the only 3rd party figure on here. Technically he’s Roar, ToyWorld’s homage to Snarl. This figure is a gift to me from my fiancee. For a long time now, I was wondering why no third parties would do CHUG size Dinobots. Hasbro did do a deluxe size Grimlock, but that figure is not well received by most hardcore TransFans. No other CHUG Dinobots were made by Hasbro. Dinobots are forever fan favorites, so it seemed like a natural fit for third parties to come in and do what Hasbro will not. So it was a real mystery to me why no third party would attempt this. And believe me, there are no shortage of third party these days. But then all of a sudden, starting I think in early 2014, a whole bunch of third party companies announced that they will be making Dinobots. Off the top of my head, I can think of 4 CHUG size lineups (ToyWorld, FansProject, GCreation, Planet X) and 3 Masterpiece size lineups (FansToys, Bullsfire, GigaPower). Anyway I’m getting off topic. I love Dinobots, and I love ToyWorld products, so I had to have their Snarl. The toy comes in dino mode. Transformation to robot mode is well engineered and fun. I love how the hind dino legs can fold into the robot legs. This appears to be the trend with all the modern Dinobots. Construction of the figure is solid. Both modes look very G1 accurate. This is a third party figure I highly recommend. I already have TW Corelock (aka Grimlock) on preorder.

Jetfire, Generations Thrilling 30, 2014
Jetfire is a character with a rather complicated history in the world of Transformers. Originally based on the Takatoku toy of Macross VF-1 fame, Hasbro got the right to the merchandise of this toy and created the character of Jetfire. I’m not sure why he is called Skyfire in the G1 cartoons, or why the show designers decided to give him a somewhat different appearance from the toy. Whatever the reason, Jetfire became an instant fan favorite. As one of the very few Autobots that could fly in Season 1 of G1, the Jetfire toy was sought after by nearly every kid who was interested in Transformers at the time. Very early in the Classics line, Hasbro came out with a Voyager class toy that resembled the G1 cartoon look for Jetfire. That is an excellent figure, but in 2014 Hasbro released a Leader class figure that is even better! This Jetifire is a must-own. Both modes look sweet, and he looks like he jumped straight out of the show. Transformation is fun without being overly complicated. Some might even consider him too simple for his size, but I can easily overlook it due to the sheer fun factor. His massive size scales nicely with other CHUG figures. Jetfire gets the vote for figure of the year from many fans, and it’s certainly very hard to make a case against it. As of this writing, Jetifre can be found in store and online at MSRP (sometimes below MSRP). Make sure you pick up yours while you can!

Age of Extinction Leader class Grimlock and Optimus were both bought from Amazon, when they were a bit cheaper from their regular MSRP of $44.99. In retrospect, I probably should not have even bothered with their purchase. AoE Leader Optimus is a ok mold. But when compared to the awesomeness that is Revenge of the Fallen Leader Optimus Prime, the AoE figure feels inferior in every way. The truck mode is not bad, but the robot mode leaves a lot to be desired. It is also overly simple for a Leader class fig. Leader class Grimlock is ok at best. I kinda like the robot mode, but the Dino mode gets bashed by almost every true TransFan. He kinda feels like a fish with arms and legs in this mode. I didn’t find the transformation all that exciting either. I only transformed him once from robot to dino, and he stayed like that since July. I will most likely sell both these figs.

The two pack combo of Silver Knight OP and Grimlock is a Target exclusive. I have both these molds already. Silver Knight Optimus Prime is a repaint of Dark of the Moon deluxe Optimus fig, and Grimlock is a repaint of Fall of Cybertron Grimlock. Normally I would not buy repaints, but that Grimlock looked so good in the gold bling. I bought this set for that reason alone. To this day I still have not transformed this Grimlock. He looks kick-ass in robot mode so I left him like that all this time.

Last there is Galvatron. He is one of the few Decepticons that Hasbro released in the AoE line. He’s got a transformation that is pretty unique. The truck mode is solid. The robot mode appears kinda simple and the articulation is not really there, but overall he’s a fun fig. Not great, but not too shabby.

So that’s 4 total purchases for 5 TFs this month, all AoE figs. 2 Optimus Primes and 2 Grimlocks. And a Galvatron. Not much variety. These figs were a fun distraction, but none of them are must-haves by any means. The 2-pack shouldn’t even count as AoE, since they are repaints and not new AoE molds. The 2 Leader class figs can be easily ignored. And you’re not missing much if you don’t buy Galvatron. So yeah, a pretty lackluster month of TFs. Things will pick up soon in August though. Til then… Transform and Roll Out.